Salon door for opportunistic politicians
Hold your horses! This is not a politician walking out of a salon door, the kind that is frequently referred to these days by both main political camps! This picture was taken a year ago during the formation of the Sri Lanka Barbers Association with a salon door being part of the décor at the [...]
State workers get ‘distress’ loans worth Rs.250,000 from Rs.30,000 earlier
Sri Lanka’s state banks have been directed to immediately facilitate the payment of interest-free distress loans for public sector employees with the amount rising several times to a maximum of Rs. 250,000 per year from an average Rs. 30,000 earlier. The directive by the Treasury comes a few weeks before the January 8, 2015 presidential [...]
CIC to export pharmaceuticals, discussing JV
CIC Holdings PLC is aiming to strike a joint venture (JV) partnership with a foreign party to manufacture and export pharmaceuticals for the region, officials said. “This (pharmaceuticals) is one of our thrust sectors. We are currently in discussion with a foreign party on a JV,” Samantha Ranatunga, Managing Director/CEO CIC Holdings told the Business [...]
Day before postal voting, police-army get new motorbikes
The Police Department, just 24 hours before postal voting began for the January presidential poll, rushed out a circular to all police officers saying they are eligible to a motorcycle worth Rs. 250,000 on easy payment terms. The motorcycle offer was a proposal in the 2015 Budget (presented last month) and was to be executed [...]
Chinese contractor pockets Rs. 410 mln from low standard Colombo Port Terminal
Sri Lanka’s Colombo South Container Terminal (CSCT) has been completed by a Chinese contractor without following the quality standards of construction stipulated in the contract, according to a revelation made by the consultancy company. Hong Kong based AECOM Consultancy Company has brought to the notice of Sri Lankan authorities that a sum of over Rs. [...]
SLT workers including CEOs threaten work stoppage if demands not met
A sizable section of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) employees, including CEOs and other senior management, is threatening a work stoppage if a plan to make permanent 2000 temporary workers is not withdrawn, union leaders said. These employees who account for 90 per cent of the workforce are saying they would go ahead with the trade [...]
Maithri manifesto ignores 8 mln private and semi-state sector workers, top union says
The Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ&GSEU), one of the most powerful workers’ unions in Sri Lanka, has raised concerns over the manifesto of the main opposition common candidate Maithripala Sirisena saying it doesn’t adequately address workers’ issues. “…. let us stress here, (that) these workers whose rights are allowed to be [...]
Tsunami: Lest we forget …
The 10th anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka, adding to the problems of the ethnic conflict, was commemorated this week unfortunately at a time of another national tragedy – floods and mass displacement of people. Some 700,000 people have been affected by the floods across many parts of Sri Lanka [...]
Sri Lanka’s economy on risky terrain
Over the past several years, since the end of the war, Sri Lankans have been assaulted with advertisements of economic progress. The Rajapaksa regime has loudly proclaimed the advent of a new era of development, making much of showy spectacles such as the construction of Hambantota port and new features being added to the city [...]
French, Singapore models of managing state enterprises involve professionals, not political stooges
French and Singapore models in running state enterprises involve hiring professionals not stooges of ministers as the case is in Sri Lanka, alleged an economist and former public sector official. Dr. T. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, Senior Lecturer (economics) of the University of Colombo, a former Transport Secretary and former General Manager of Railways, said the French [...]
23 SL senior corporate officials take part in leadership programme in Japan
Twenty-three senior officials from leading companies and organisations of Sri Lanka won a ‘rare opportunity’ to participate in a Senior Corporate Management Leadership Programme in Japan. It was organised in collaboration with Japan Sri Lanka Technical and Cultural Association (JASTECA) and The Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association (HIDA) of Japan. HIDA of Japan [...]
Access to Internet should be included in SL Constitution as a right
‘Print Media – soon you’ll be out of business; better find an alternate way to impart information as social media is bulldozing you’ was the warning at a UN event last week by a final year Colombo University student studying international relations. This young Sri Lankan was implying that the print media, the traditional media [...]
Amãna Takaful PLC transfers long-term business to Amãna Takaful Life Ltd
Amãna Takaful PLC recently announced that the company will be transferring its Life insurance business, ‘Family Takaful’ to Amãna Takaful Life Ltd with effect from January. “The separation of Amãna Takaful’s Life and General insurance businesses will enable the company to run the two categories of insurance as separate business entities,” according to a company [...]
ZILLIONe and Godrej InfoTech launch Microsoft Dynamics AX
ZILLIONe, one of Sri Lanka’s pioneer business solution providers, announced the commencement of a partnership with Godrej InfoTech this week. With the combination of ZILLIONe’s dominance in the Sri Lankan market and Godrej’s expertise, the Sri Lankan business will be benefited with the ZILLIONe’s offering of Microsoft Dynamics AX in the future, the local firm [...]
Railway union said in 2011 that northern/southern railway tracks could have been done much cheaper
While a heated debate has emerged over the exorbitant cost of constructing the northern railway and other highways, the Railway Track and Bridge Managers’ Union said it had submitted a proposal in 2011 to the government urging the authorities to use their skills instead of importing skills for these mega projects In a series of [...]
IronOne product to help boost trading for CSE members
IronOne Technologies recently launched its new product, the ATRAD Stock Trading Solutions Suite, at the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo. Under this members of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) would now have a new platform for their stock trading activities. The Sun Microsystems certified real-time, online stock trading software will enable members to trade remotely [...]
State domination of domestic air travel sees declining trend in industry
The demand for domestic air travel in Sri Lanka has seen a drastic decline, owing to the Air Force’s dominance in this sector, industry sources say. “The demand has fallen since most local aircraft routes are operated by the Air Force which other operators don’t enjoy. This takes away the industry’s competitiveness as others cannot [...]
Fitch withdraws ratings on Asian Alliance Insurance
Fitch Ratings Lanka said on Monday it has withdrawn Asian Alliance Insurance PLC’s National Insurer Financial Strength Rating and National Long-Term Rating of ‘BBB(lka)’. “The Sri Lanka-based company’s Insurer Financial Strength Rating of ‘B’ has also been withdrawn. All the ratings were on Rating Watch Negative. The ratings have been withdrawn due to insufficient information [...]
Correction
“Chinese – funded road projects maximize profits through local subcontracts”. In last week’s story under the above headline, Sanken Construction (Pvt) Ltd says that the company is not engaged in road construction projects in the north as reported in the story. The error is regretted.
Munchee’s Gamata Sarana CSR initiative helps rural communities
Ceylon Biscuits Ltd (CBL) recently completed six community projects under the ‘Munchee Samaga Gamata Sarana’ infrastructure development initiative. Through this initiative CBL has completed nearly 100 CSR projects throughout the island that directly benefited 83,765 people this year alone, the company said in a media release. These recent projects include a community centre in Deniyana [...]
Maithri – Ranil promise to wipe out corruption, restore ‘decent’ ties with the West
The two ‘drivers’ of the opposition coalition which is aiming to oust Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a presidential election on January 8, on Tuesday assured the country’s business community of the proper enforcement of the rule of law, an end to corruption, equality to all big and small businesses and the restoration of [...]
